Z. Amir Ebrahimi, M. Bajestani and A. Abbasi from HOLY SPIDER, enchant the red carpet at European Film Awards in Reykjavik

Abbasi was a student when the 2000–01 murders took place and was baffled by the conservative response that heralded Hanaei as a hero, and by how long it took for police to capture him. Abbasi began writing versions of the film shortly after seeing Hanaei interviewed in Maziar Bahari’s 2002 documentary And Along Came a Spider. Abbasi said, “In a really strange way, I felt sympathy for the guy, really against my own will.

December 11, 2022 | 12:52 am